


Down on the Bayou

by alexpenkala



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 05:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11937723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexpenkala/pseuds/alexpenkala
Summary: Gene and Babe have been together for a year when they go to meet Gene's parents. Babe's nerves and spice tolerance are tested. Babe has no spice tolerance and Gene's mom can cook the spiciest food imaginable.





	Down on the Bayou

       Babe and Gene had been together for over a year. Gene had decided to go home to Louisiana for a visit and insisted that Babe come with him. Babe let out a groan when he realized he was to meet Gene’s family. Gene’s mom’s food would probably kill him with all the spices Cajun food had. He could barely handle Gene’s toned down versions of gumbo and jambalaya. Babe was going to be so in over his head.  
        “ Babe, are going to go with me to Louisiana? I understand if you do not want to but I would for my parents to meet you.” Gene asked him.  
        “ Of course I am! I am just a tad nervous to meet your family. It is a big deal to meet the family.” Babe told Gene.  
         Gene arched an eyebrow at Babe and looked at him with a level of irritation. Babe knew he was okay with Babe being nervous but he still had not expected this much of a discussion about it. “I know but my family will love you a lot. They cannot wait to meet you. My mom has been talking about this for a while.”  
          “Soooo your mom is not going to kill me or disapprove of me right.” Babe questioned his boyfriend.  
          Gene threw an arm around him and pulled him closer to him. “ I love you Babe and that means my mom will love you too. You are to love her too even when she tries to get in your business.”  
          “So she is going to be just like my ma when she met you. She was practically interrogating you when you came over for dinner.” Babe whined.  
         Gene rolled his eyes at his theatrics and got up off the couch to make dinner. Babe was banned from any sort of cooking after he almost set the apartment on fire. Gene was so disappointed with him and Bill still gives him shit for it. His friends and lover had no clue until then how helpless Babe was in the kitchen. So he just sits at the dining table on his phone while Gene is cooking.  
Gene had been cooking all sorts of Cajun food to get him prepared even though according to Gene there was no way to prepare him for the spiciness of his mother’s cooking. It was going to be a trial by fire literally. Babe was not sure he was ready for that but the trip was in a few days so he had to be.  
           Babe hoped he was not in for more spicy food but with the trip up and coming he knew he was in for it. His boyfriend had made cornbread, fried okra, and shrimp gumbo. He loved cornbread and fried okra but the gumbo he was not sold on. The spice was not something his weak Irish palette could handle but here he was faced with spice. He knew not to make a fuss about Gene’s cooking it got him a look of tiredness and boredom of his complaints.  
He decided to eat in silence rather than earn another sigh from his boyfriend. He tries all these new spices and flavors just for Gene. Gene in turn tries all the foods Philly has to offer. Right now he is trying not to eat his weight in fried okra. Who knew fried vegetables could taste so good. Gene smiled at him as they had what was their only dinner together in the last two weeks. Babe had extra shifts at the bar and Gene has been on call a lot. They had seen each other but not enough to arrange a date. Hence the vacation of sorts in a few days.  
          The next few days were full of packing and worrying for Babe. Gene was full of energy and bursting with excitement at seeing his family. Seeing him happy made Babe happy. The days before the flight were filled with frantic packing and Babe trying not to panic too much. Babe was a horrible overpacker according to everyone. Gene had packed in a short amount of time before his shift. Babe had the day off so he was left to sit and worry a lot. He was a natural worrier and he knew it.  
The next morning saw him at the airport at an ungodly hour with a half asleep Gene nestled into his shoulder. Gene had got off his shift a few hours and he had rumpled clothes and hair. He had never looked cuter in his opinion even though Gene was always the picture of cuteness. They were waiting for the plane to board in an hour. They did not want a repeat of the last vacation where the whole group had missed almost missed the plane. No one would ever let him live that down.  
         His train of thoughts were interrupted by Gene making a contented noise as he burrowed his head deeper into the soft material of Babe’s hoodie. He would spend the rest of the wait like this and most of the flight as well. His boyfriend needed all the sleep he could get. The visit home would give him some as well as some much needed time with his family.  
The call to board came over the speakers in the airport and Babe got his boyfriend up. He was met with some resistance from him but they made it the gate with a few minutes to spare. They got into the plane and into their seats.  
       He was promptly used as a pillow by his boyfriend who had gone back to sleep. He sat and tried to deal with the overwhelming nervous of the trip. It was nice to see a place but it felt like something more. This trip is an important step in their relationship.The plane trip did not take long and soon the had landed in Baton Rouge where Gene’s family lived. He woke up a very sleepy Gene and got their bags from the overhead bin. Gene lead him to the baggage claim where a very large group of people were standing. His boyfriend spotted his mom and lead Babe towards her. Gene’s mom had an excited smile on her face as she saw them.  
She gave his boyfriend in a huge hug and saying something to him in French. Gene looked more relaxed than he had seen him in a while. Babe knew he looked the same when he was at home with his family. The moment had arrived for him to meet the in laws and he was squeezing Gene’s hand hard from nervousness.  
     “Mama, this is Edward, my boyfriend,” Gene told her as he gently shoved Babe closer towards her. Gene had seen through his carefully planned retreat.  
      Gene’s mom enveloped him in a hug, “Hello dear. I have heard so much about you and cannot wait to get to know you.”  
      Babe told her it was nice to meet her as well then they went to get the luggage. They found their luggage and Gene’s mom led them to her car. Babe was hit with a wall of humidity and heat. He made a disgruntled noise at the alarming amount of humidity and heat. Neither Gene nor his mom looked concerned about either of those things.  
They sat in the back together while Gene’s mom asked Babe questions. They were about his family and what was Philly like. She was smiling and Babe could tell she was warming up to him. Gene was holding his hand and smiling too. It made Babe happy to know that Gene’s mama was slowly approving of him. Now he needed to pass the rigorous spice testing.  
They pulled up to a quaint older home on small acreage. The house smelled amazing from what was cooking in the kitchen. It smelled like gumbo which made him happy but he was wary of the spice content. Gene’s mama was notorious for her spicy food. He walked into the kitchen and met Gene’s dad and siblings. They all sat down for lunch which turned out to be a southern feast. There are is a pot of shrimp gumbo, fried okra, potato salad, turnip greens, and cornbread.  
      Everyone got a bowl of gumbo and a plate of as many sides as they wanted. Everyone else ate the gumbo with no problem but Babe just stared at it, Now was the time for facing actual spice. Babe tried a spoonful and almost died. Like he had never had spice on this level before. He was stupid and tried to eat more which made it worse. Gene pushed a glass of milk over to him and gave him a small look of why did you eat more.  
        Babe drank the glass in one go and blushed in embarrassment. He had not meant to make a big ordeal out of the spice but he had a weak spice tolerance. Gene’s mom got him a bowl of a toned down version of the gumbo and all was well. His family was well okay with Babe’s lack of spice tolerance.  
The next few days were spent trying to build up his spice tolerance and his tolerance of sweet tea. He discovered that southerners loved the iced tea that had more sugar than tea. And that really anything could be put in a deep fryer. He got introduced to a lot of new foods.  
        “Gene how does everything here end up deep fried. If it is vegetable fry and if it meat fry there is no real qualifications for frying.” Babe asked him.  
         “Well you have it correct we think most food tastes better fried. It is just tradition even if I do not like some of the things we fry,” Gene told him.  
Gene filled him in on the secrets of Cajun and southern cooking while they explored the city he grew up in. Babe loved to see where Gene had grown up. They spent the nights on the porch swing just enjoying each others company. Mama Roe tried with a valiant effort to get Babe a better spice tolerance and it did not fail to bad. At the end of the trip, Babe was happy he got to meet the family of his love and got to spend time with him. Even though he paid a price with spices in the home cooking.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my second fic so comments are welcome. I got this prompt on tumblr that was basically Babe have no spice tolerance and he tries cajun food. Hope you enjoy


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